Find An Auditing Product That Complements Service Management Software

So you have implemented a field service management (FSM) solution with great ROI, but it’s got a few kinks. We get it and it’s not unusual because this is complicated stuff that you’ve introduced into your business. As implementation experts, we have seen the issues that service organizations run into, even when implementing some of the best FSM software on the market: no product is infallible. One of the holes that is often left by FSM software is a complete and easy to access data audit log and it still surprises us how many “leading” solutions out there don’t really offer much here. This can be a BIG hole because FSM software involves much manipulation of data, on a large scale. So where does that leave you with your shiny new solution? Well, it may still be a great FSM solution, but unfortunately you are not going to reap the full ROI without also having some complementary audit software.

“Absolutely not,” you may be thinking. “I have just invested over a million dollars in a new field service management solution and I am not going to sink more money into something that may or may not improve the functionality and effeciency of my system.” This is a legitimate concern, but the truth is, a low monthly subscription cost and an initial setup fee can save you headaches, time, and money. If you are concerned specifically about the ROI, please read our blog post “The ROI of Database Auditing.”

How do you know if you even NEED a data audit log software and if so, what do you look for? That’s an easy place to start.

Ease of Integration: It goes without saying that the data audit log needs to be integrated with the FSM solution so that it can extract the relevant data that it needs. Despite advances in integration over the years that have made this easier, integration often remains a headache for many system integrators. A good starting point therefore is to ensure that they KNOW the FSM solution that’s being integrated with. Their knowledge and expertise makes this a simpler and more reliable process, taking away the headache that you’re probably expecting!

Multiple Systems: The FSM solution is probably just one of many that your business needs. How about also taking data from your ERP or CRM system too giving you one FULL audit log for every business critical system that you own? If the data audit software cannot accommodate multiple data sources then it’s simply the wrong product for you.

Searchable: Taking business critical data from multiple sources will generate A LOT of data. And given the rise of Big Data, the amount you are storing is just going to get bigger and bigger so how do you find anything? You need data audit software that incorporates an efficient search mechanism that helps you find what you need using any criteria: job, user, date, time, action, etc.

To find a data audit solution that connects to multiple systems, is easy to integrate, and has search that helps you to find anything, then read about Observato today.